Page 257 of 316

Tires and wheels -
----------------
•
& WARNING (continu ed )
personal injur ies . Have worn or damaged tires repl aced immed i
ately.
• Winter tires have ma ximu m speed rating th at may be lower
than your vehicle 's maximum speed.
• Never drive faster than the speed for which the winter or other
tire s installed on your vehicle are rated.
& WARNING
Alway s adjust your driving to the road and traffi c cond it ions .
Never let the good acceleration of the winter tires and all -wheel
drive tempt you into tak ing e xtra ri sks . Always remember :
• When braking , an all -wheel drive vehicle h andles in the same
way as a front drive vehicle .
• Drive carefully and reduce your speed on icy and slippery roads ,
even winter tires cannot help under black ice conditions.
c£> For the sake of the environment
Use summer tires when weather conditions permit. They are
quieter, d o not wear as qu ic kly and reduce fue l con sump tion. •
Snow chains
Snow c ha ins may be fitte d only to t he fr ont w heels , and only to
certain t ire sizes. Ask your authorized Audi dea ler on which tire
s izes snow chains ca n be used .
I f you are going to use snow chains, then you must instal l them on
the front whee ls at least.
The snow chains must have low-pro file l inks and must not be thicker
than 0. 53 inch ( 13 .5 mm), including the lock. Remove wheel center covers and
trim discs before putting snow
chains o n yo ur vehicle ~
(D. For safe ty reaso ns cover caps mus t
then be fitted over the whee l bolts. These are available from autho
r iz ed A ud i deale rs.
& WARNING
Using the wrong snow chain s for your vehicle or installing them
inco rrectly can increase the risk of loss of control leading to
serious personal injury.
• Snow chains are ava ila ble in d ifferent si zes . Always make sure
to follow the instructions provided by the snow chain manufac
turer .
• When driving with snow chain s never drive faster than the
speed permitted for your spe cific snow cha ins .
• Always observe local regulations .
0 Note
• Remove snow chai ns before d riving o n roads not cov ered w ith
snow to avoid damaging t ires and wearing the snow chains down
unnecessar ily .
• Snow chains, which come into direct contact with the wheel rim,
can scratch or damage it. Therefore, make sure t hat the s now c hains
are suitably covered.
[ i ] Tips
Where snow chains are mandatory on certain roads, this normally
a lso a ppl ies to veh ic les w it h All Wheel Dr iv e. •
Vehicle care I t •
Page 258 of 316

_L_T~ir ~e :..:s~ a~n~ d~ w~ h ~e~e~ l~ s '.,_ ______________________________________________ _
Wheel bolts
W heel b olts mus t al wa ys be tigh te n ed to t he cor rect
to rqu e.
The design of wheel bolts is matched to the factory instal led rims . If
d ifferen t rims are fitted, the co rrect w heel bo lts wit h th e rig ht length
and correctly shaped bolt heads m ust be used. This ensures that
w hee ls are fitt ed s ecure ly a nd th at t he brake sys te m funct ions
correctly .
I n certain circums tances, yo u may no t use w heel b olts fr om a
differ ent vehicle -even if it is the same model::::;,
page 296.
&_ WARNING
Improperly tightened or maintained wheel bolts can become loose
causing loss of control , a collision and serious personal injury.
• Always keep the wheel bolts and the threads in the wheel hubs
clean so the wheel bolts can turn easily and be properly tightened.
• Never grease or oil the wheel bolts and the threads in the wheel
hubs. They can become loose while driving if greased or oiled,
even if tightened to the specified torque .
• Only use wheel bolts that belong to the rim being installed.
• Never use different wheels bolts on your vehicle.
• Always maintain the correct tightening torque for the wheel
bolts to reduce the risk of a wheel loss. If the tightening torque of
the wheel bolts is too low , they can loosen and come out when the
vehicle is moving . If the tightening torque is too high, the wheel
bolts and th reads can be damaged and the wheel can become
loose .
0 Note
The specified torque for the wheel bolts is 90 ft lb (120 Nm) with a
t ole ranc e of ± 7,4 ft lb(± 1 0 Nm). To rque whee l bolts diag onally.
After changing a wheel, the torque must be checked as soon as possible with a to
rque wrench -preferab ly by an authorized Audi
dea ler o r qu alif ied wo rksh op.•
Low aspect ratio tires
Yo ur Audi is fac tory-equip ped wi th l ow asp ect rati o tires. Th ese tires
have been thorough ly tested and been selected specifically for your
mod el for thei r su per b p erfo rma nce, road feel an d handl in g u nder
a variety of driving conditions . Ask your author ized Aud i dea ler for
mo re deta ils.
T he low aspec t ra tio o f th ese t ires is ind icate d by a numera l o f 55 or
less in the t ire's size designation. The numera l represents the ratio
of the ti re's s idewa ll height in re la ti on to its tread w idth e xpress ed
in percentage. Conventiona l tires have a height/width ratio of 60 or
mo re .
The performan ce of low -aspect -ratio t ires is part icularly sensitive to
improper inflation pressure . It is therefore important that low
aspect ratio tires are inflated to the specified pressure and that the
inflation pressure is regularly checked and maintained. Tire pres
sures should be checked at least once a month and alway s before a
long trip::::;,
page 244, "Checking tire p ressure".
What you can do to a void tire and rim damage
L ow a spect ratio tires can be damaged more easi ly by impact with
potho les, curbs, gull ies or ridges on the road, particularly if the t ire
is underinflated.
In orde r to minimi ze the occurrence o f im pact da mage to th e tire s
of your vehicle, we recommend that you observe the fo llowing
p reca utions:
• Always ma intain reco mm ende d inflat io n pressu res . C heck your
tire p ressure every 2, 000 miles (3 ,000 km) and add ai r if neces sary .
• D rive car eful ly on roads with potholes, deep gullies or ridges.
Th e impact from d riving th ro ugh o r ove r such o bstac les can
dama ge you r tires . Impact w ith a curb may also cause da mage to
your tires . .,_
Page 292 of 316
___ G_ e_ n_ e_r_ a _ l_ in_ f_ o _r_m _ a_ t_ i_ o _ n __________________________________________________ _
Dimensions
The specifications refer to the basic model. Differences may occur
depend ing on the mode l type a nd op tions ordered, for examp le, tire
sizes.
0 Note
When driving up steep ramps, on rough roads, over curbs, etc. it is
importan t to remembe r tha t so me parts of your vehicle, such as
spo ilers or exhaust system components, may be close to the
ground. Be careful not to damage them.•